The Question: The use of digital data covered by Copyright in a multimedia production reflects a lack of creativity and is against the law in all circumstances. Discuss
Digital data is tremendously common in today’s society and when people produce creative multimedia works, it is almost inevitable that digital data will be used. However, when somebody uses digital material that is covered by Copyright in their own multimedia production, does it reflect a lack of creativity and is it against the law in all circumstances?
When using somebody else’s creative material, copyright is a definite consideration. Copyright is the exclusive rights that the owner has to stop others from using their material without permission.
Copyright allows creative authors to continue developing works and continue getting what they deserve from it. This quote helps to explain my statement. ‘The government-appointed committee whose report led to the introduction of Australia's current Copyright Act said: “The primary end of the law on this subject is to give to the author of a creative work his just reward for the benefit he has bestowed on the community and also to encourage the making of further creative works.”’ (Copyright Purposes and Sources, 2009)
The owner has the exclusive rights to:
- Copy or reproduce the work
-Adapt it
- Publish it
- Perform or broadcast it in public
If someone wanted to do so, they would need to first ask the owner for permission. This can ensure that the copyright owner receives the credit or pay (if they choose to charge a fee) that they are entitled to from the creation of their work.
Examples of things that are covered by copyright include:
- Art
-Literature
- Sound recording
- Computer Programs
- Music
- Films
- Broadcasts
Creative multimedia work is also covered by copyright. Multimedia includes audio, video, text, images, and animation. The rights that cover different components of multimedia can vary slightly. For example, the rights of artworks can vary to the rights of musical works. Sometimes it is tempting to use copyrighted material without permission as it is very easy to get, (commonly through the internet), thinking that no one would notice, or just honestly being completely unaware of it. For example, if somebody in Australia used copyrighted material without permission from the owner who resides in France, it is unlikely that the owner would be aware of the matter. This shows how easily it is to infringe copyright laws. In addition, it is also hard to track the legitimacy of somebody’s copyrighted material. When we retrieve “copyrighted” work that claims to be legitimately original, it is very hard to know for sure whether or not it was actual original ideas since the source of these ideas are unknown and in Australia it is not necessary to register copyright. Of course this is not the case for many but it can raise the question of trusting the authenticity of a source.
Although it is legal to use copyrighted material given that one has obtained permission from the copyright owner, does it show a lack of creativity in the creator of another multimedia production?
In some circumstances, it does show a lack of creativity but only in situations where the work has been used in a way that the main idea conveyed in the final product is mostly composed of the copyrighted material that was used. This means that there had not been enough creativity and original material from the creator being put into the final multimedia product. If the copyrighted material is incorporated appropriately, for example in a way where it only enhances and supports the creator’s original idea but not taking over the concept, it is definitely acceptable for the copyrighted material to be used.
Digital data that is covered by copyright is not only multimedia, but it also includes computer programs. When creating a multimedia product, computer software is required to do this and since computer software is copyrighted, commercial programs require people to pay money to the company (often the copyright owner) in order to use it. The owner of the copyright to a computer program is generally the programmer or the company that paid for the program to be made. These software authors are entitled to earn money for what they worked for.
By paying for the program, you are becoming a licensed user of the program, not an owner. There are terms and conditions within the license which you have to agree to as a licensed user. If someone chooses not to pay for the program, it would be against the law. Making unauthorised copies of a program which results in the free availability for others to use is called software piracy, which currently a major growing issue. According to the article “Australia bucks local piracy trend”, in Australia, 26 percent of all PC software installed is pirated. The statistic that was recorded for the previous year was 28 percent. Fortunately, this shows that there has been a decrease in the statistic, but it is still only a small drop. In the United States, major contributors to software piracy are small businesses that use unlicensed copies of popular programs. It is obvious that software piracy is a major problem internationally which is costing large amounts of economical loss to creators who are entitled to earn money from the programs that they have created.
Other than retail programs, there are also programs that are distributed as shareware. Shareware is copyrighted programs which are released by shareware publishers as free programs, however a small fee is usually required if you wanted to use the program regularly. So the basic concept is for people to try the software before actually paying money to buy it. Usually there is a trial period of generally 30 days or there will be some limitations to the software before you purchase it. Shareware is cheaper to purchase than the mainstream retail software; this is trying to stop people from copying software illegally as shareware is open for people to copy, given that users are paying a small fee to use it for a longer period of time. The distribution method of shareware also benefits the programmer because they don’t have to pay money for advertising or packaging unlike retail programs. The debate here is whether shareware programs are actually of better or lesser quality in comparison to commercially available programs.
In conclusion, after analysing all the aspects in relation to the discussion of “The use of digital data covered by Copyright in a multimedia production reflects a lack of creativity and is against the law in all circumstances.” I believe that in most circumstances it is alright to use copyrighted digital data given that it supports an original idea and that the data is obtained appropriately.
The Question:
The use of digital data covered by Copyright in a multimedia production reflects a lack of creativity and is against the law in all circumstances. Discuss
Digital data is tremendously common in today’s society and when people produce creative multimedia works, it is almost inevitable that digital data will be used. However, when somebody uses digital material that is covered by Copyright in their own multimedia production, does it reflect a lack of creativity and is it against the law in all circumstances?
When using somebody else’s creative material, copyright is a definite consideration. Copyright is the exclusive rights that the owner has to stop others from using their material without permission.
Copyright allows creative authors to continue developing works and continue getting what they deserve from it. This quote helps to explain my statement.
‘The government-appointed committee whose report led to the introduction of Australia's current Copyright Act said:
“The primary end of the law on this subject is to give to the author of a creative work his just reward for the benefit he has bestowed on the community and also to encourage the making of further creative works.”’ (Copyright Purposes and Sources, 2009)
The owner has the exclusive rights to:
- Copy or reproduce the work
-Adapt it
- Publish it
- Perform or broadcast it in public
If someone wanted to do so, they would need to first ask the owner for permission. This can ensure that the copyright owner receives the credit or pay (if they choose to charge a fee) that they are entitled to from the creation of their work.
Examples of things that are covered by copyright include:
- Art
-Literature
- Sound recording
- Computer Programs
- Music
- Films
- Broadcasts
Creative multimedia work is also covered by copyright. Multimedia includes audio, video, text, images, and animation. The rights that cover different components of multimedia can vary slightly. For example, the rights of artworks can vary to the rights of musical works. Sometimes it is tempting to use copyrighted material without permission as it is very easy to get, (commonly through the internet), thinking that no one would notice, or just honestly being completely unaware of it. For example, if somebody in Australia used copyrighted material without permission from the owner who resides in France, it is unlikely that the owner would be aware of the matter. This shows how easily it is to infringe copyright laws. In addition, it is also hard to track the legitimacy of somebody’s copyrighted material. When we retrieve “copyrighted” work that claims to be legitimately original, it is very hard to know for sure whether or not it was actual original ideas since the source of these ideas are unknown and in Australia it is not necessary to register copyright. Of course this is not the case for many but it can raise the question of trusting the authenticity of a source.
Although it is legal to use copyrighted material given that one has obtained permission from the copyright owner, does it show a lack of creativity in the creator of another multimedia production?
In some circumstances, it does show a lack of creativity but only in situations where the work has been used in a way that the main idea conveyed in the final product is mostly composed of the copyrighted material that was used. This means that there had not been enough creativity and original material from the creator being put into the final multimedia product. If the copyrighted material is incorporated appropriately, for example in a way where it only enhances and supports the creator’s original idea but not taking over the concept, it is definitely acceptable for the copyrighted material to be used.
Digital data that is covered by copyright is not only multimedia, but it also includes computer programs. When creating a multimedia product, computer software is required to do this and since computer software is copyrighted, commercial programs require people to pay money to the company (often the copyright owner) in order to use it. The owner of the copyright to a computer program is generally the programmer or the company that paid for the program to be made. These software authors are entitled to earn money for what they worked for.
By paying for the program, you are becoming a licensed user of the program, not an owner. There are terms and conditions within the license which you have to agree to as a licensed user. If someone chooses not to pay for the program, it would be against the law. Making unauthorised copies of a program which results in the free availability for others to use is called software piracy, which currently a major growing issue. According to the article “Australia bucks local piracy trend”, in Australia, 26 percent of all PC software installed is pirated. The statistic that was recorded for the previous year was 28 percent. Fortunately, this shows that there has been a decrease in the statistic, but it is still only a small drop. In the United States, major contributors to software piracy are small businesses that use unlicensed copies of popular programs. It is obvious that software piracy is a major problem internationally which is costing large amounts of economical loss to creators who are entitled to earn money from the programs that they have created.
Other than retail programs, there are also programs that are distributed as shareware. Shareware is copyrighted programs which are released by shareware publishers as free programs, however a small fee is usually required if you wanted to use the program regularly. So the basic concept is for people to try the software before actually paying money to buy it. Usually there is a trial period of generally 30 days or there will be some limitations to the software before you purchase it. Shareware is cheaper to purchase than the mainstream retail software; this is trying to stop people from copying software illegally as shareware is open for people to copy, given that users are paying a small fee to use it for a longer period of time. The distribution method of shareware also benefits the programmer because they don’t have to pay money for advertising or packaging unlike retail programs. The debate here is whether shareware programs are actually of better or lesser quality in comparison to commercially available programs.
In conclusion, after analysing all the aspects in relation to the discussion of “The use of digital data covered by Copyright in a multimedia production reflects a lack of creativity and is against the law in all circumstances.” I believe that in most circumstances it is alright to use copyrighted digital data given that it supports an original idea and that the data is obtained appropriately.